Keys to the Game: Michigan football at Ohio State

It’s finally here — Michigan vs. Ohio State — and for the first since 2006, both teams are undefeated heading in. The winner captures the Big Ten East Division and the right to play for the conference title the following week. The loser likely gets a trip to the Rose Bowl against a good Pac-12 team … a nice consolation prize, some would say. 

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But in this era of “only the top four matter” (another reason we need an expanded playoff sooner than later), it’s not good enough to many. That includes OSU coach Ryan Day, who said as much at Big Ten Media Day this fall. 

“That’s part of the deal here. A lot of times you go 11-2 and win the Rose Bowl, you say that’s one heck of a season,” he said. “Well … not around here. Our goal every year is to beat the Team Up North and win the Big Ten championship and win the national championship, and we didn’t get those things last year.”

It’s been that way for a while now. OSU went full football factory when Jim Tressel took over in 2001, and now the expectations are through the roof. Losing to Michigan is not an option. Dropping two in a row would probably have Buckeyes fans questioning their will to live. 

But it’s possible. Michigan is heading to Columbus to win, and the Wolverines will get their shot. Here are keys to beating Ohio State for the second time in a row for the first time since 1999-2000: 

Michigan key No. 1: Make CJ Stroud uncomfortable

Now, getting pressure on him every time he drops back to pass, no matter how many they’re sending in pass rush, would be great. It’s also not realistic. 

But even last year, when ends Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo terrorized the Ohio State tackles (and, subsequently, Stroud), some of the sacks were of the “coverage” variety. Then-defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald mixed up his coverages extremely well, and it threw Stroud off. 

We saw Notre Dame duplicate the game plan in their 21-10 loss in Columbus earlier this year. OSU started to figure it out in the second half, but the Buckeyes found the end zone only three times despite Stroud being sacked only once and pressured (officially) zero times. 

Mixing things up on the back end is a great start. Confuse Stroud, and the passing game with elite receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr. could at least be held in check. They’ll complete some passes, like last year, but as long as it’s not a track meet and they tackle well after the catch, the Michigan defense can have some success. 

Key No. 2 — Have some ground success

Junior Blake Corum might not play. Sophomore Donovan Edwards is banged up, but he can play in some capacity — how much can he carry the load, if necessary?

If it’s on frosh CJ Stokes and walk-on Isaiah Gash, with all due respect to the work they’ve put in and how hard they play, it’s not going to be enough. And we’d love to say, “screw it – go five-wide and open it up,” but the Michigan receivers haven’t proven they can make the basic plays consistently, let alone the big ones needed in a game like this. 

And we love sophomore J.J. McCarthy’s moxie, leadership, etc., but he hasn’t been consistent, either. 

This is probably going to be a game in which they have to piece a running game together with an outstanding game plan. Maybe that means more McCarthy running the ball (and not just read options). They’ve got nothing to lose at this point.

Whatever it is, they have to generate something on the ground to have a shot … to shorten the game and keep the OSU offense off the field. 

Key No. 3: Win special teams and turnover battles

Turn the ball over Saturday and lose. Period. And the Ohio State defense, while still somewhat a paper tiger despite the rankings, is very good at takeaways. 

Michigan needs to find a way to generate something in the return game. We know grad student Jake Moody will show up with field goals, touchbacks, etc. — this is a game in which you tell him to put every ball in the end zone — but can they finally generate some kick return yardage?

Grad student receiver Ronnie Bell had the best punt return of the year last week against Illinois. Do you keep him back there?

They also need Brad Robbins to be Brad Robbins. The grad student has been struggling with short punts. They’re going to need every one of his kicks to be on point Saturday. No short fields. 

The breakdown: Michigan football at Ohio State

If we knew junior running back Blake Corum were 100 percent healthy, we’d actually like this matchup. We saw the Wolverines bully Ohio State on both lines last year, and we think they can do it again. This offensive line is the best the Buckeyes will have faced this year, by far — and now that it’s healthy again, we expect it can bully them up front they way they did last year. 

The question is — will there be a back that can take advantage?

Every Michigan player is going to have to play his best game Saturday. But this isn’t the David vs. Goliath matchups we had when Rich Rodriguez and — to an extent — Brady Hoke were here (though Hoke’s teams always played OSU tough). The Wolverines are traveling “south until you smell it, east until you step in it” (as the old bumper sticker went) to win. 

And they can. If they bring their ‘A’ game and get enough from the running game, the Wolverines could well be in a fourth-quarter contest with a shot at a second straight title.